Musk’s coming for your brain

Today, we’re reporting on the challenges ahead, including the fact that people aren’t just wary of the tech, they’re wary of the man offering it.

In today’s edition:

• ChatGPT is making people more money and better at their jobs.
• Even FBI agents couldn’t figure out who was behind QAnon.
• The airfare-booking hack that airlines hate.

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Boebert, Thomas, & Finland

• Rep. Lauren Boebert’s son called 911 in tears to report his father was “throwing” him around the house. Then she took the phone. Read our report.
• Justice Clarence Thomas hinted he’d go further to gut the EPA’s power after the Supreme Court limited clean-water protections. More here.
• Electricity prices in Finland flipped negative on Wednesday. That’s because clean electricity was so abundant that the average energy price was below zero. Read more.

Neuralink’s brain chips

But people really don’t want anything to do with it.

That isn’t too surprising, considering Musk is a guy whose cars have caught fire, rockets have exploded, and even once reportedly told employees working on the chips to imagine they had bombs strapped to their heads. Experts have also warned that Musk’s new tech could bend your mind in strange and troubling ways, even warping your sense of self.

However, other brain implants have achieved groundbreaking feats. More advanced versions of the tech have helped a paralyzed man walk again and allowed a man with ALS to text, shop online, and play games just by thinking.

But, for now, people seem to be reacting to Musk’s Neuralink with a collective “hell nah.”

ChatGPT, QAnon, & US airlines

• How ChatGPT made people better at their jobs and also helped them make more money. Insider profiled four workers — a recruiter, a broker, an entrepreneur, and a chief marketing officer — who each used the AI chatbot to work better and smarter.
• “I’m a sunbed saver in Ibiza.” For 500 euros and the cost of renting a sunbed, Alexia Parmigiani will save a seat at the pool for you. She says the service accommodates the late-night lifestyle on the island. Check out her story.
• Even the FBI can’t figure out who QAnon is. Agents in New York opened an investigation into who was behind the conspiracy movement in 2018. But newly released documents showed that they closed the case in 2019 after an unsuccessful search. More here.
• Amazon’s internal AI playbook. Insider viewed a leaked, internal document titled “Generative AI Sales Playbook.” The 12-page guide included email templates, sample conversation starters, and more to help the company make a stronger push into the generative AI space. Dive into it here.
• The best US airlines in 2023. Check out The Points Guy’s annual ranking of US carriers. The list factored in things like reliability, mishandled baggage, and the passenger experience. Delta came out on top; Frontier came in last. See the full list.
• Meet the family of Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. According to reports, the Amazon founder and his longtime girlfriend are now engaged. Here’s a look inside their family.
• “Skiplagging” flyers. Expensive airfares are forcing travelers to find new ways to save. Some are booking flights with a layover city as the intended destination, skipping the second leg of their journey — and airlines hate it. Here’s why.

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